Cutting Tariffs -- an unexpected perk of the campaign game?

So here's an intriguing piece from Emma Jacobs at WHYY-FM's Newsworks site. Turns out that if you give money to your favorite local congressman, you, too, can get an onerous trade tariff targeted for reduction. Who knew?

Thomas Nowakowski and his wife Carmella contributed $7,500 to "Fitzpatrick for Congress" on March 30, 2012, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

A little after a month later, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks County) submitted eight bills for tariff suspensions and extensions of tariff suspensions in this cycle, at the request of Nowakowski's Newtown-based company, United Color Manufacturing.

In total, Nowakowski Sr., his wife and son, Thomas Jr. have contributed $25,683 to Fitzpatrick's campaigns since 2004.

Tariff suspensions reduce an existing tariff on a specific product without an American competitor.

"Tariff suspensions are about protecting jobs," Fitzpatrick's chief of staff, Athan Koutsiouroumbas said in an email. "Which is particularly pertinent in a weak economy with unemployment exceeding eight percent for over 40 months.""